REUTERS: What is happening with Pinterest?

August 1, 2022

What does Elliott Management see in Pinterest?

Running Point and its chief investment officer, Michael Ashley Schulman, CFA, were quoted by Reuters in an article—by Yuvraj Malik, “Pinterest shares surge after Elliott discloses it is the largest shareholder”—regarding activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosing that it owns the largest public stake in Pinterest. Personally, I was not very surprised since it had been disclosed in July that Elliott had an over 9% stake in Pinterest.

The article was also picked up by NASDAQ and U.S. News.

Pinterest offers a distinct way for businesses to market

Elliott, an activist investor is now the largest owner of social network Pinterest which is still early in its monetization strategy—with a unique and growing user base—versus many other social networks like Twitter, Instagram, BeReal, Snap, and TikTok. As a visual search engine, Pinterest offers a distinct way for businesses to market. I think Elliott may be on to something here! Recall that last October, PayPal explored purchasing Pinterest when it was at a much higher valuation. Additionally, Pinterest’s new CEO, Bill Ready, who previously ran commerce at Google, could be a true catalyst for change, improvement, and fresh revenue.

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Disclosure: The opinions expressed are those of Running Point Capital Advisors, LLC (Running Point) and are subject to change without notice. The opinions referenced are as of the date of publication, may be modified due to changes in the market or economic conditions, and may not necessarily come to pass. Forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed. Running Point is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about Running Point’s investment advisory services and fees can be found in its Form ADV Part 2, which is available upon request. RP-22-50